Light for the Journey: 12.08.08 A Glimpse of Heaven (9)

Heaven is a happening place!  For those of you who are counting on catching up on your sleep in heaven, let me reassure you that it is a place of rest.

Revelation 14: 13 (NCV) Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Happy are the dead who die from now on in the Lord." The Spirit says, "Yes, they will rest from their hard work!"

However, the scriptures also describe heaven as a place of activity and adventure, an exciting place filled with great energy. There are two kinds of activity that we will be part of: worship and service.

Ephesians 2:10 (NCV) God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.

Psalm 100: 2-5 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

We were created to worship and serve God during our time here on earth and for eternity. Worship and service cannot be separated. When we worship God, we will naturally serve Him; and when we serve God, we are worshipping Him. What will we do in heaven?

1. We will serve in Heaven.  Revelation: 7: 9; 13-15 (NIV)  After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?" I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.

Revelation 22:3 (NIV) The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

There are many Christians who are doing nothing, but there are no Christians who have nothing to do.  To some, being a servant does not sound like heaven. We don't like to serve on earth so why would we want to serve in heaven? Our definition and understanding of service and of being a servant is flawed!

Service is love in action. When we think of a servant, we think of someone who reports for work for a specific amount of time and is paid a specific wage for that work. During that time, the servant is at the disposal of the master, but when that time is over, the servant is free to do whatever he wants to do. That is an employee - not a servant. The word "serve" comes from the Greek word "latreuo" and is often translated as "worship." It is not the picture of a slave serving a master but the picture of a love relationship that compels action.

A father came home from a stressful day at work, ready for some rest and relaxation. His young daughter came running to him, "Daddy, can I get you a drink?" The dad answered, "No, I'm not thirsty." The little girl tried again. "Daddy, can I get you something to eat?" The dad responded, "I'm not hungry!" She began again, "Daddy, can I..." The Father stopped the little girl and asked, "Honey, what is it that you want?" The little girl looked up into her father's eyes and said, "Daddy, I don't want anything. I love you so much that I just have to do something about it!" That is service! It happens a natural result of a love relationship. When we come to Christ, one of our first "natural" responses is to serve, to help someone else find Christ. Service is spontaneous, enthusiastic and tireless. Matthew 12:29-30 (ICB) Accept my work and learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will find rest for your souls. The work that I ask you to accept is easy. The load I give you to carry is not heavy." If there is no desire to serve, if we find it hard to serve, then there is something wrong with the relationship because it is natural for a Christian to serve. True service takes place when we do what we were created to do.

Romans 12: 1 (NIV) Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.

We worship God by pleasing Him in the daily routines of life. In other words, every day is a worship service to God!

Service will be rewarded. The original noun form of the word "serve" is "latron" which means "reward" or "wages". Revelation 7:14b And the reward of all they have done stays with them." It pays to serve on earth and in heaven. Sometimes we experience the rewards of service here on earth and other times we don't. I read the story of an Atheist farmer who often ridiculed people who believed in God. He wrote the following letter to the editor of a local newspaper: "I plowed on Sunday, planted on Sunday, cultivated on Sunday and hauled in my crops on Sunday, but I never went to church on Sunday. Yet I harvested more bushels per acre than anyone else - even all of those servants of God. The editor printed the man's letter and then added this remark: "God doesn't always settle His accounts in October." That editor was right! Sometimes we get discouraged and are tempted to complain because of what we see in the world around us. It is hard to understand how those who don't serve God seem to prosper here on earth and ask why God doesn't do something about it. Why doesn't He reward those who serve Him and judge those who don't? Be patient. He will! God doesn't always "settle His accounts in October," but God always settles His accounts.

Psalm 37:1-9 (NCV) Don't be upset because of evil people. Don't be jealous of those who do wrong, because like the grass, they will soon dry up. Like green plants, they will soon die away. Trust the LORD and do good. Enjoy serving the LORD. Wait and trust the LORD. Don't be upset when others get rich or when someone else's plans succeed.

We need to remember that our bank account is there - not here. Our inheritance is banked in heaven and the rewards for service stay with us through all of eternity! Service will be rewarded!

2. We will worship in heaven. Worship means "adoration" or "honor." The verb form of worship means "to pray." Most people tend to worship their work, to work at their play and to play at their worship. True worship involves our whole life. Everything we are and all that we do should applaud God. Our lives should be a tantalizing aroma of Christ.

2 Corinthians 2: 15 (NCV) Our offering to God is this: We are the sweet smell of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are being lost.

We lived in Fort Worth, Texas while Dan went to seminary and I taught elementary school. Every day, I drove past a bakery on my way to work and every morning they baked fresh bread and rolls. The smell was incredible! I often stopped and bought fresh bread. I could have closed my eyes and still known where I was because of that aroma.  Heaven will be filled with the aroma of the presence of God, but on earth, we are the vessels - the containers - for the aroma of Christ. That is worship. And we will spend eternity worshipping God!

Revelation 7:9-12 (NCV) After the vision of these things I looked, and there was a great number of people, so many that no one could count them. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language of the earth. They were all standing before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They were shouting in a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." All the angels were standing around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures. They all bowed down on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, saying, "Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and strength belong to our God forever and ever. Amen!"

Worship in heaven is filled with praise. We need to learn how to praise God while we are here, because it is the warm-up for heaven. Praise is a celebration of God!  In heaven, we will praise Him for:

Who He is Revelation 4:8 (NIV) Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

For what He has done  Revelation 4:11 (NIV) "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

For His death  Revelation 5:12 (NIV) In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"

For His authority  Revelation 5:13-14 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshipped.

In heaven, we will spend eternity praising and worshipping God.